The Ultimate Life
by The Faceless One
Summary: Shadow is the Ultimate Life form... isn't he? Shadow has a nearly identical twin. But he's a homicidal maniac. He's out for vengeance. From who? Everyone.
1. Prologue

The Ultimate Life-form

©2005 This is a fanfiction was written by Samuel the Great (me). Therefore, while **some** of the **characters** do not belong to me, this story is my property. Therefore, you must have my permission to steal it (I always say steal). Therefore, if you do not have my permission and you steal this, I will gouge out your eyes, rip one or two things you **will** miss, and then stick your foot behind your head! If you do want to steal it, then e-mail me at Have a nice day! 

Prologue

**May 24, unknown year. 4:27 PM. Hidden underwater base, control room.**

Eggman closed the cover of his grandfather's journal. He was in a state of shock. First the Eclipse Cannon, then Metal Sonic's rebellion, the Black Arms attacking, and now… this. After Shadow had told him to leave the Ark and never return, he had practically _begged_ the red and black hedgehog to let him remove Prof. Gerald's things. Finally, Shadow had relented. "Very well," he had said, "Gerald's things and nothing else! If you try, I will know." Among his grandfather's belongings, he had found a second journal. Knowing Gerald had kept a record of all his experiments in several journals, Eggman had removed this along with all the other items.

Upon returning to his new base, he had begun to read it. It took him two days, but finally he had finished it. And now he had found it, the ultimate plan for world domination. If the contents of this journal were true, then on the Ark was a magnificent machine that would grant him a gift that would rival the power of the so-called "Ultimate Life-form". That is, if Shadow truly was the Ultimate Life. He pressed a button that turned on the intercom.

"Egg Pawn number-2416!" he barked.

"Yes, your magnificence?" a tinny voice replied.

"Assemble an assault squad! We are going to attack the Ark!"

"Th-the Ark? …Yes, your grace. Also, I have the progress report upon the DS unit-0001."

Eggman smiled. "Go on."

"The subject has fully absorbed the injections of the dark mist samples taken from the Black Arms forces. A full mutation in the subject's genetic code is taking place. The final stage can begin once we have a DNA sample from the sentient known as Shadow."

"Excellent…" Eggman let out a maniacal laugh, and jumped into his walker. "Your time has come, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Still laughing he pressed a lever forward and the walker dashed to the hangar.


	2. Aboard the Ark

Chapter 1: Aboard the Ark

**May 24, unknown year. 5:03 PM. Space colony Ark, control room.**

Shadow was sleeping. And as always, he had the nightmare he had every night. He saw himself, running down the hallways with Maria. He saw the G.U.N. forces chasing them. But, recently, he had begun to see a new figure in his dreams. He only caught a glimpse of him, but, from what he could tell, he saw a black hedgehog, not unlike himself, only this one had no red markings on his body. Sometimes this hedgehog's face fur was solid black, but every few nights, this being had a long, white, crescent-moon shaped scar running down his left eye.

Shadow did not like him. He felt nothing but pure malice emanating from the strange being. But that wasn't what made Shadow feel cold shivers running down his spine. It was the scarred one's eyes. They were a deep crimson, and they had this strange piercing look, that made you think he was staring into your very soul. And when he saw Shadow, the black hedgehog would give a smile. It was an evil grin, one that held a secret. And his teeth were terrifying. He had vampiric fangs, which were stained red at the tips.

Usually the dream ended here. Today was no different, except now he awoke to the sound of alarms blaring. Shadow groaned, got off of the cot, and said, "Locate intruder."

A screen came up on the monitor and showed Dr. Eggman, along with a battalion of Egg Pawns. Shadow scowled, and said silently, _I told the fat bastard to get out, and stay out! _Then he saw where the Doctor was, and he was infuriated. Eggman was in Maria's old room, and he was tearing it apart.

Shadow was out of the control room faster than you could say, "pissed". 

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Eggman was getting nervous. According to his grandfather's journal, the coordinates to this "ultimate weapon" were hidden in "Maria's legacy". Once the legacy was found, he would say the code-word (which Eggman hated) and the coordinates would be revealed. Eggman figured that the legacy was a holo-journal, but so far, no results had been reaped from his efforts.

"Apologies for disturbing you, your grace," an Egg pawn said, "But there is a cybernetic organism approaching at a very high velocity."

_Shadow!_ Eggman redoubled his efforts, when suddenly a thought struck him. The genius smiled, and said, "Well then, let's welcome my dear cousin's _legacy_."

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Shadow moved throughout the Ark in a black rage. Disobeying a command was one thing, but when Eggman began to destroy Maria's things was something else entirely. _I'm going to make you suffer, Eggman!_

He turned a corner and nearly ran right into the Doctor's walker. He jumped back and growled, "Eggman."

"Hello, Shadow," the Eggman sneered.

"I told you to leave and never come back."

"So you did."

"And yet here I find you."

"So you do."

"And you are tearing Maria's room to ribbons."

"So I am."

"Do you have any last words before I send you into a world of endless pain and suffering?"

"Just one. _Love_."

In later years, Shadow would often think about what had happened to him that day, because the next thing he knew, he was suddenly saying, "GUN military base Sigma, level ten security level, cell block omega, cell number 9. X9104."

Eggman smiled and said, "Excellent. Activate teleporter." And in a flash of light, he vanished. Shadow stood there for a second, stunned. And then he said aloud, "What was that all abou-"

Shadow never finished his sentence, because suddenly his head erupted in pain. He screamed and clutched his head. It was as though his head had been split open. And then, he heard a voice. It was his own voice, but twisted, sinister. It was cold and cunning, the voice of a murderer.

_It's not long now, brother. I'm coming for you._

And then, the voice and the pain vanished. He slowly opened his eyes. He wondered about what just happened. It was then he realized that, if the mysterious hedgehog from his dreams were to be given a voice _that_ was what it would sound like. It was in that moment that Shadow knew, by telling Eggman that strange code, he had just set the wheels of suffering in motion.


	3. First Interlude

Interlude: History part 1

At one time, there were four races of echidna. Three of them are not well known. The Clans, as they were called, were the Mystic, Shadow, Twilight, and Dark echidnas. The Mystic Echidna Race symbolized the Guardian. The Shadow Echidna symbolized the Warrior. The Twilight Echidna symbolized the Mage. And finally the Dark Echidna Race symbolized the Conqueror. Each had a sacred relic to signify their power; The Mystic had the Master Emerald. The Shadow had the Great Sword. The Twilight had the Staff of Protection. The Dark had the Silver Ring.

There was time when all of the echidna races were united. They lived together in peace. They believed in Egyptian Gods like, Horus, Ra, Anubis, and Isis. They believed that they had placed their power into four echidnas. There was only one hedgehog living with the tribes, a silversmith. Horus commanded him to create a ring of silver, a relic that would express power and rule over all echidnas. The silversmith did as he was told, and created this ring with ancient echidna symbols embedded into it.

Greed over took Horus, and he enslaved the echidnas forcing them to work and make precious items for him. Anubis, god of Shadow, took all of he echidna that were black with red stripes and carried the mark of the white star, he created and army of incredible size and strength. The echidna races warred over greed until it tore them into four separate races, Mystic, the Guardians, Shadow, the warriors, Twilight, the Mages, and Dark, the Conquerors.

But this separation was not the end of war. Burning with rage at this defeat, Horus embedded his lifeline in those whose fur was pitch black. And so, the Dark Echidnas, fueled by greed, hatred, and malice, became the Conquerors. And with this power, they used the Silver ring to dominate all the other races. Their leader was a mighty necromancer, known only as Seraph. He sought to dominate this world and many others.

One by one, free lands fell before the power of the Silver Ring, until, only the three other clans remained. Seraph sought to take the power of the Master and Chaos Emeralds from the Guardians. If he were to succeed, then nothing would stand in his way. But the Warriors would not let this stand. They gathered together what forces they had, and struck out at the Conquerors. A terrible war ensued, until finally, the two mighty leaders faced each other in combat.

Both were masters of their artifacts and they began a battle that was so terrible, that the earth itself screamed in agony. When the smoke cleared, both leaders were dead. But the power of the silver ring was so great, and the hatred that fueled Seraph was so complete, that he rose from the dead to become one those that today we call vampires. But his battle had weakened him greatly, and so the Mages imprisoned him and his followers in an ancient mural. The armies of the necromancer faded and the war ended.


	4. From Within

Chapter 4: From within

**May 24, unknown year. 8:23 PM. Angel Island, emerald altar.**

Silence. It was an absolute sound, the sound of nothing. It was also one of Knuckles' favorite things in the world. It was silence that he had been listening to that night. Usually, it was comforting to listen to, but on this occasion his thoughts were troubled ones. He feared for the safety of the Master Emerald.

Lately, tremors had been plaguing the island. While this was not an extraordinary coincidence, he was troubled by the fact that they had been coming much more frequently lately, and each time was more violent than the last.

His thoughts were broken by a kind, female voice saying, "You should not trouble yourself with such matters." He looked to see Tikal standing a few feet away. She, the water spirit called "Chaos", and the chao were the only other denizens on the island.

Knuckles sighed and said, "I know you're right. But _if_ I'm just being paranoid, and _if_ these earthquakes are just a coincidence, then at the very least, they could break up the island."

Tikal smiled. "The Master Emerald wouldn't let that happen."

Knuckles sighed, and was about to say something else, when an earthquake struck, this one the most violent the island had ever seen. The red echidna fell over backwards, landing on his tail. He looked up to see a piece of rock shake itself loose from the altar and fall towards Tikal. _She_ was frozen in fear.

"NO!" Knuckles yelled, "Save her!"

Knuckles had never been very religious, the Master Emerald was the closest thing to a "god" that he had ever known. But in that moment, he wished for anyone, "holy spirit" or not, to save one of the only friends on the island that he had. And, to his relief, his prayer was answered.

Chaos seemed to erupt from the ground and rocket towards the offending boulder. The water spirit grabbed the huge rock in midair, and hurled it over the edge of the island. The tremor was lessening now, and he would have breathed a sigh of relief, when he heard it.

It was an undertone to the rumble of the earthquake, a quiet sound, but it was there. A voice, murderous and black, was speaking an ancient chant over and over. This is what was said: _negrathea toljium, prestadij atil_.

Knuckles looked over at Tikal. Her expression of pure terror told him that she heard it too. And then, just as the pain and voice Shadow had felt on the Ark vanished, so did _this_ voice and tremor vanish.

Slowly, both echidnas got to their feet. Chaos looked around, turned into a puddle of water, and vanished. Knuckles then said, "Did you hear..."

And Tikal replied, "Yes."

"...I knew it!"

"What?"

"There is something stirring on the island."

"I agree, but not _on_ the island."

"What? Where then?

"From _within_ the island..."

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Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald, and so is a master of its terrain, both above and below. But Angel Island is ancient and its underground catacombs are vast. Not even in the days of the Guardians were all the tunnels mapped fully.

Tikal had been right that day. Something had been stirring within the island. Something dark and ancient, something cold and cunning. Long had it lain dormant, gathering strength to return to a second life. Long had it slumbered, its armies waiting to be called into existence. Had the two Mystic Echidnas above known what had been spoken, perhaps they might have been prepared for the trials to come. But neither knew what was said, for the black speech of the Dark Echidnas had ceased to be spoken ages ago...


	5. Shade

Chapter 5: Shade

(time for some fan-characters)

**May 24, unknown year. 9:58 PM. GUN Military base Sigma, Omega cellblock.**

"GET UP, MARINES! THE CORP AIN'T PAYIN' US BY THE HOUR!

Jynx and Zephyr were jolted awake by an extremely loud and obnoxious voice screaming in their ears. Both the cat and the hedgehog jumped to attention as Sgt. Baxter shrieked at them.

"It's about time ladies," the human growled, not realizing his own pun, "As you no doubt obviously know by now, these green-horns down at GUN are still too busy fightin' Black Arms forces to take care of their own bases. So they've got us three on loan from the Corp so _we_ can watch their own little prisoner here in Omega cell. AND I CATCH YOU TWO NAPPING ON THE JOB, AGAIN! We can't aff…"

As Baxter prattled on, Jynx tuned him out. She had heard his little monologue a million times before, and knew it by heart. When he had his backed turned, she and Zephyr would mimic him and chortle with silent mirth. Neither of them liked Baxter, he being loud, obnoxious, bossy, and a by-the-book leatherneck. But, they still gave him a small measure of respect, because he had proved to be worth the three million war medals adorning his chest.

During the initial invasion of the Black Arms forces, the three of them had been marooned in the middle of a particularly fierce battle between Eggman droids and the offending aliens. Zephyr ended up getting caught in the cross fire of plasma weaponry, and had been wounded severely. Baxter had gone back for the hedgehog, took out an entire platoon of aliens with one grenade, and got shot in the back with a plasma beam nine times without so much as grimacing in pain. Upon returning to the base, he had seen that Zephyr get the best medical treatment available. But she had been injured so critically, she had one arm, a leg, her right eye, and a lung removed and replaced with a machine equivalent.

But despite all of this, Jynx flat out refused to listen to Baxter's little speech. Which he was finishing, by the way.

"…which is why we have to be constantly vigilant. Am I right, Marines?"

"Sir, yes sir!" both furries replied.

"Damn right I am! Now if so much as a fly gets in this cell, I'LL HAVE YOUR ASSES CUT OFF AND HUNG UP ABOVE MY MANTEL!

And the human left. After she was sure he was gone, Zephyr said, "Okay, that was random."

"Can't get much random-er," Jynx piped up.

"I don't know why we have to guard this cell, no one ever comes down here."

"No one, no thing."

"Besides, shouldn't they have a small army down here? I mean, if this guy is as bad as they say he is, won't they need more than just us and Captain annoying to watch him."

"Yep."

"…I'm hungry."

"Uh-huh."

Zephyr stood up. "I gonna get a bite to eat. You stay here and watch Mr. 'I'm so important that I need a human, hedgehog, and cat to watch me'."

And she left. Jynx was silent for a moment and then said, "How hard can watching one prisoner be?"

And then the alarm started blaring.

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Defense-bot after defense-bot rushed at Eggman, only to be blown into tiny pieces. Of course this was nothing new. Eggman had invaded and wrecked GUN bases before, and each defense grid was the same as the last; flimsy as paper and easy to get by. In the ten minutes he had been there, the genius was already approaching cellblock omega.

"All too easy!" the Genius crowed.

His walker approached a door labeled "Omega. Level ten security pass required."

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Jynx swallowed nervously. _Okay, they're outside the door. But that's three feet of titanium between the intruders and me. No worries._ And then the door blew inward.

Jynx was up and running before the door hit the ground. _NOTE TO SELF: CHANGE NAME!_

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Eggman stomped inside the cellblock and looked around; Jynx having left, there were no more guards to stand between him and his prize. Eggman smiled. _Perfect._ And even better, there was only one cell on-line. There was the "Ultimate Weapon".

Eggman dismounted from the mech and strode over to the door. This one was much better made. A special energy shield was in place everywhere but the control panel. And it just so happened Eggman knew the passcode.

"X9104," he barked. The light winked green, the shield deactivated, and the doors slid open.

Eggman was about to let out his trademark laugh… and then he saw the contents of the room. There was no stasis pod holding a genetic experiment. There was no super-laser like on the ARK. And there most definitely was no super robot. Instead, there was a strange two-piece device. It consisted of two giant metal hoops, the smaller residing inside the larger. Next to the hoops was a console. Eggman frowned; there had been nothing in the journal about these hoops.

Cautiously, the fat human slinked over to the control panel. A set of symbols flicked across a small screen at the top. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were coordinates. It was then Eggman realized what these hoops were. A machine that had been dreamed of since technology began. A machine that was said to be pure fiction. A machine whose equations were so complex, that men much smarter than Eggman had gone mad trying to figure it out. And yet his grandfather had done it.

Professor Gerald Robotnik had created an artificial rift gate. In other words, he had created a portal that could be manipulated to travel to other universes entirely. Not the alternate realities that Sonic and his friends had traveled to so many times before, but a new place entirely. This could have large possibilities in conquering other lands.

It was then that one of the buttons on the console caught his eye. It was flashing repeatedly and making a small beeping noise. Because of the several layers of dust covering the console, Eggman had to bend low to see it clearly. **Recall**. _Recall?_

It would be in later years that Doctor Eggman would endure all sorts of misery for his actions that day. Because of one small thing, he would let loose a vicious and terrible trial upon the world.

He pushed the button. All at once, figures jumped onto the screen to form a maelstrom of letters and numbers. They seemed like random bits of code, and then they flew together, forming new coordinates. And then the rift gate activated.

The two hoops began to spin. Their progress was slow at first, and then they began to increase their velocity. Faster and faster the two hoops turned, until they formed a grayish sphere. The sphere began to glow, brighter and brighter. Within moments, it had become a spinning ball of electricity. And all at once, it stopped. The two hoops were still, but a circle of light stood tall and ominous inside them. It stood there storming and glowing… and that was when he came.

At first Doctor Eggman only saw a silhouette, but then he stepped through. First came the leg ending in a foot clad in a rocket shoe, like Shadow's. Then came the torso, a white star set against the black spines covering his chest, followed by the arms, and lastly, the head. It was then Eggman saw the creature in full light. He was a hedgehog, shaped and clothed as Shadow was, but solid black with two exceptions. One was the star on his chest. The second was a white, crescent moon shaped scar running down his left eye.

The hedgehog's crimson eyes swept over the room, and came to a rest at Eggman. He folded his arms, smiled and said, "Hello."

The human inwardly flinched at the voice. It was Shadow's voice, but twisted, sinister, cold and cunning, the voice of a murderer. Eggman spoke. "Erm… hello. I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik," he said. In an instant the hedgehog was no longer standing in front of the machine, but was instead standing before the genius, and pumping his arm up and down in a furious hand shake.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Doctor Robotnik," he said, "My name is Shade."

"Yes, well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Shade," the nervous human replied as the black mobian stepped back, "Tell me, are you familiar with a professor Gerald Robotinik?"

A shadow seemed to cross Shade's face, but then it was gone, and Shade replied, "Yes I am. You are a relative of his, correct?"

"Yes, I am his grandson. How are you familiar with him?"

"I, my good man, am one of his creations. The greatest, I might add, next to this marvelous machine. I was intended to be a weapon, which might work to your advantage, I think."

_Very straight to the point._ "You are right. I was hoping that you might help me, say..._ bring this world to it's knees!_"

Shade gave a malicious grin, and Eggman nearly did a double-take. His canines were sharp, really sharp.

Shade spoke, "Yes, Robotnik, yes. With our combined strength, surely no one could stand against us!"

"Yes!"

"Their forces would fall before us, their denizens would cower before our might!"

"_Yes!"_

"No one would be able to stop us, and those who tried would DIE!"

"YES, YES! With you by my side, world conquest will be ours."

"Unfortunately, Doctor, that is where we run into a snag."

Eggman's grin faded into a scowl; he'd been expecting something like this.

"So, Shade. Not willing to share, huh?"

"Not at all, my dear man. Your goal differs from mine."

"And what 'goal' would that be?"

"_Complete and total global annihilation!_"

Doctor Eggman's anger exploded into alarm. Never had he expected something like this.

"I- I cannot allow you to do that, Shade," Eggman said shakily.

Shade gave another menacing grin. "You don't have a choice, Robotnik."

Eggman was about to bolt for his walker, when Shade's hand shot forth. He was too small to reach Eggman's throat, but an invisible force bolted from the black Mobian's palm and lifted Eggman three feet off the ground. There he remained suspended for three seconds, before Shade tossed him sideways into the wall.

"All too easy," the black hedgehog said, and turned towards the door. He was met not with an empty space, but instead a huge metal battle suit. The words _Hotshot_ were stamped across the side. And sitting at the driver's seat behind three inches of reinforced glass, was Jynx. Upon running from the door that exploded inward, she hidden in the cell opposite of Shade's, where she witnessed Shade's release. While the two villains conversed, she had run to the hangar to get a mech, and had found the newly repaired _Hotshot_.

And so there she stood, ready to end both of the villains. But now that Eggman had a concussion, Shade was the only available candidate. "Goin' somewhere, boyo?" she teased.

Shade glared at her and said, "Yeah, through you."

"Riiiiggghhhhht…" and she opened fire with the machine gun. Shade was instantly moving; as he picked up speed, the bottoms of his shoes caught fire, and he began to glide smoothly over the floor as the line of projectiles followed him. Jynx expertly manipulated the mech's controls and fired off a salvo of missiles. Shade jumped at the wall and ran along it; his skates deactivating. The missiles followed him, and they were gaining. The scarred one jumped off the wall and kicked the nearest missile, which immediately exploded. The other projectiles followed suit.

Jynx desperately tried to see if the missles had had any effect, when she saw a black blur in the corner of her eye. She tried to see what Shade was doing but to no avail, after all, she was in a cramped cockpit.

Shade drew back his fist and punched the huge robot's leg. It bent inward, broken like a toothpick. But the black hedgehog didn't stop there. He was already at the other leg. He grabbed the metallic ankle and pulled. _Hotshot_ fell onto its side and Shade yanked upward. The metal armor plating did not come away. Shade demonstrated super-human (?) strength and smashed it into the ceiling and then brought it back down. The cockpit's windshield shattered, and Jynx tumbled out along with the blue Chaos Emerald powering the machine.

Jynx got to her feet, only to be immediately grabbed in a bear hug by the offending hedgehog. As she struggled, Shade said, "You'll have to try harder to kill _me_, my dear. You gave me gifts of bullets and missiles, and all failed. So here's my gift to you." And then the unthinkable happened. He kissed her. The cat felt a stream of what felt like sand rushing from his mouth into hers and flowing down her throat. As the rough tide subsided, she lost consciousness.

Shade smiled and reached down to her waist. He removed her equipment belt before dropping her to the floor. He then took the belt and tied it around his waist. As he walked away, he bent low and scooped up the Chaos Emerald, which he began to spin on the tip of his index finger.

"You have to try much harder than _that_, cat. My name is Shade, and I am the Ultimate Life form.


	6. Siblings

Chapter 6: Siblings

**SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG TOTALS GUN MILITARY BASE!**

**ALL POLICE FORCES ORDERED TO INCAPACITATE AND CAPTURE THE EX HERO.**

That was the headline in the newspaper Rouge the Bat had woken up to on this drizzly Thursday. Though Shadow had a history of creating Chaos among GUN forces, Rouge still found it hard to believe Shadow would attack the military unprovoked… that and the friendship she felt for him. But still she was worried for him. Shadow had a knack for getting into trouble when he least needed it. _Maybe I should call up Omega and MS and… NO!_ Helping Shadow escape from the authorities would only get the cops on her faster than ticks on a monkey. She needed something to take her mind off Shadow. She did what any girl does in such a situation: go to the mall. And so there she sat in the food court, reading the paper; which she tossed disgustedly on the table.

The paper had made out Shadow to be a blood-crazed maniac. After working with him on Team Dark for a year and a half, she knew that was the farthest thing from the truth. Although, had she seen Shade's handiwork, she might have known the only real mistake in the paper was the perpetrator.

Rouge slowly reminisced back to when they were a team. As she relived her memories, she pulled out a picture of Team Dark. There was her, trying to be attractive, Omega with his trademark fist and the newly reformed Metal Sonic scowling. And last was Shadow, giving a rare smile.

"Nice headline, huh?"

Rouge was very unceremoniously brought back into reality. There was a stranger sitting at her table, reading the paper. A few blue spines poked up over the top of the paper.

"Sonic?" she asked.

"Wrong," said the stranger, and he brought down the paper. He looked like Sonic, but he wasn't. His quills were a darker shade of blue and where Sonic was tan, he was white. His eyes were crystal blue. "Name's Blizzard."

"Riiiiiiiight," Rouge said, "I'm not interested, if you're gonna spout pick-up-lines."

Blizzard laughed. "You've got me all wrong, darlin'," he said in a slight Texan accent, "Ah'm not here fer a good time. Ah need yer 'services.'"

"Services?"

"Mah 'intel' tells me yer the best damn jewel thief this side o' the west coast."

"That's right."

"Ah'm goin' ter save you a lotta time and cut to the chase. Ah need the Chaos Emerald at the museum, and ah need it quick," he tossed a bag onto the table, "that's yer advance. There's triple where that came from, if you pull through fer me."

Rouge picked up the bag and opened it, and then her eyes almost popped out of her head. The bag was filled to the brim with diamonds. She looked up to acknowledge him, but stopped. Blizzard was gone.

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Rouge did not know she was being watched. High up towards the ceiling, on one of the rafters, a black hedgehog watched her get up and walk away. Shade had obtained a bit of clothing, since his release three days ago. He now had a long trench coat along with his shoes and gloves. A pair of sunglasses stuck out of the pocket. The previous owner of these items would not miss them very soon; he was lying in an alleyway, his head on backwards.

Light footfalls announced Blizzards presence. "Ain't she a looker?" was all the greeting Shade got.

"Nice to see you too, little brother," Shade grunted.

"Ah, c'mon. Ah know you want 'er in the crook of yer arm."

"She's not my type woman."

"Yer type of girl is the kind lyin' dead in some alleyway."

"She is a sexual object to you, she's a tool to be used for me."

"Tools have sev'ral uses."

"Let me rephrase that. She's expendable."

"Yer just coverin' yer ass, cuz you know she'd just pass you right over."

"If I wanted to have her, which I don't, she would be mine in an instant."

"Oh really, how?"

Blizzard suddenly did a kick-flip backwards and landed with the beam between his legs.

"The same way I made you smash your balls," Shade growled.

"Remind me to kill you," Blizzard said from behind clenched teeth.

"Noted." Shade pulled out the Chaos Emerald he already had and began to spin it on his finger like a basketball. No longer was it blue and radiant; it had become dull, grey, and cracked.

"Why don't we start breakin' stuff now?"

"Our strength alone isn't enough to bring this world to its knees. We must be nine again. But we can start early, if we have Voltage."

"Start early?"

"I think we should give the world a little appetizer of what we can do before we get serious."

"Ah thank yer right."

"People fear lightning and thunder. So they are most definitely going to fear my little brother." Shade gave a smile and clasped the Chaos Emerald in his hand. In a flash of black, they were gone.


	7. Second Interlude

Second Interlude

With the Great War ended, the tribes were at peace again. However, one question rushed all throughout the clan: what was to become of the Silver Ring?

At first there was a political struggle as the leaders of the clans argued over what should be done with it. The Shadow Echidnas, who were known for their violent warmongering, claimed it should be destroyed. The Mystic argued that the relic was very unstable, and should be placed in the care of their guardian: Chaos. The Twilight proposed that it should be taken and studied in the hope that it might be later used to benefit the clans.

And then, just as the leaders were ready to take up their weapons, the single hedgehog stepped forth and said, "I have made this monstrous thing, hence it is my burden." The leaders were skeptical, as asked, "Where would one such as you take the Silver Band?"

But the silversmith was determined, and proclaimed, "Where sky meets earth, and fire meets wind. A place where light is darkness and shadows are guardians. A home opposite of the angelic fiend, is where the Band of Silver shall lie."

With these words, the silversmith left the clans with the silver ring, and has not been seen since. For even now, when the Twilight faded into the stars, when the Mystic are all but dead, when the Shadow reside only in their fortress, they wait for the Silver Guardian to return.


	8. What once was then, is now once more

Chapter 8: What once was then, is now once more

**May 26, unknown year. 10: 43 AM. Bellicus Mts, Ikusa Fortress.**

Knuckles' pride was one of the most important things to him, and nothing would ever force him to relinquish it. But the incident a few days ago had left him feeling strangely uneasy, and for the first time in awhile, he was afraid for the Master Emerald, though he'd never admit it. The phrase he'd heard that day kept repeating in his head, over and over and over, until he felt it might drive him mad. And then, as lay thinking of his friends, it hit him. _Lucien!_ If anyone would know how to translate those words, it would be him. The Shadow Echidnas had the largest library in the _un_known world, and Lucien, and the King's daughter Mist, were the keepers of the mass of knowledge.

And so that was how Knuckles found himself in the Bellicus Mountains, lost as a daisy in a hailstorm, for he had remembered in the last twenty minutes that he had absolutely no sense of direction. As he hiked up to a ledge, Knuckles was so absorbed in the map that should have taken straight to Ikusa Fortress, that he walked into a tree. He got up, rubbing his sore nose, and growled, "I am never going to live this dooooooowwwwwn!"

His final word was a howl as the cliff gave way beneath his feet to drop him… to the ground three feet below. Rubbing his now sore head, the Guardian stood up… and beheld the vast Fortress being patrolled by red and black echidnas. As he stared on in bewilderment, all he could say was, "How did I miss _that_?"

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"Knuckles, hello!" was Lucien's warm greeting as the Guardian entered the library, "It's been so long. How are you?"

"I'm fine Lucien, where's Mist?" Knuckles asked. There was a burst of fog as a mighty beast materialized in front of him to say, "BOO!" Knuckles shrieked and fell backwards over a chair. Mist's grin stretched from ear to ear as she said, "BOOYA! I still can get you with that one? You haven't changed, Knucklehead."

"Neither have you, since you were four," he growled, "Now I'd love to say and chat but I have important business with Lucien." Mist looked crestfallen, and she opened her mouth to complain, but Knuckles shoved her aside and marched to the elder.

"Lucien, I'll get right to the point. I need a translation. I have no idea what language it was in, or even what era the language was spoken in. Yes or no, can you help me?"

"Well, ah… I can certainly try. What was said?"

Knuckles reached into one of his gloves and pulled out a piece of paper, "Erm, I think this how it's spelled, I can't pronounce it myself."

Lucien picked up the paper and examined it, "Well, I'm not sure what's said here, but, with all these books around, the answer shouldn't be too hard to find."

**Three hours later…**

The three of them were bored stiff, sick of reading, and still had no idea what was on the scrap of paper. "Lucien," Mist whined, "I'm boooored! Can't we go and eat?"

"No, Mist," the archivist replied sternly, "We will not leave until we have accomplished our task."

"But I'm bored! What's on this stupid thing anyway?" She snatched it away from an aggravated Knuckles who growled, "Mist!" The Princess stared at the scrap and then said, "_Negrathea toljium, prestadij atil_? What in the hell that non-"

Mist was cut off as suddenly all the books save one slammed shut by themselves. The windows all blew inward as a scorching wind ripped across them and turned the last open book to one page. And as suddenly as it had begun, the wind stopped.

Exchanging uneasy glances, the three of them edged toward the tome, and they all huddled to look down at the pages. To Lucien's surprise, he couldn't read the text. "That's strange, I've never seen this text before."

Lucien thought to call for another translator, when to his even greater surprise, Knuckles began to read,

"_From the shadows of greed he rises,_

_Bringing armies made from lore._

_He wrath rains down on us,_

_And forms the eternal four._

_Though now he is imprisoned,_

_A part of the great stone door._

_What was once then,_

_Is now once more."_

There was silence for a moment, and then Mist asked, "How did you do that?" Her words seemed to bring Knuckles out of a trance, because he said, "I dunno… it was like… like there was nothing but me and the text. And when I tried to read it, the letters told me what to say.

"Well that doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps not Mist," said Lucien, "But nevertheless, Knuckles, you understand this book, whereas we do not. Therefore, you should take it." Lucien closed the book and held it out to the Guardian, "It'll be more useful to you than it will be to us."

Knuckles was unsure for a moment, but then, he tentatively reached out and took the tome. The item in hand, Knuckles left saying only, "I'll be back soon."

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On Angel Island, the beast residing in its bowels was stirring. It wouldn't be long now. Not long at all.


End file.
